J006-ALTA MAR ASALTO BARCO IRANÍ

STORY: Video aired on Iranian state TV in the early hours of Thursday (April 23) purportedly showed armed soldiers boarding two container ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

The seizure of one of the ships, the Panama-flagged MSC Francesca, was confirmed by Montenegro's minister of maritime affairs, who said four Montenegrin seafarers were on board and that they and the rest of the crew were safe.

The IRGC accused the MSC Francesca and the Liberia-flagged Epaminondas of operating without required permits and tampering with their navigation systems.

State TV video showed speedboats with Iranian flags approaching the ships at sea. Soldiers walking aboard the ship had their rifles drawn.

Reuters confirmed the identities of the container ships as MSC Francesca and Epaminondas by their shapes, colours and types of vessels which matched file imagery of the vessels. Ship tracking data confirmed the position of the container ships. Coordinates are 26.4865, 56.9274.

The exact date when the video was filmed could not be independently verified, but no older version of the footage was found posted online before April 23, 2026. Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported the seizures of the ships on April 22, 2026.

Iran's actions to bottleneck the strait, used to transit about one-fifth of the world's daily oil and gas supply, have caused the worst disruption in energy supplies in history. The strait usually sees about 130 vessels a day enter and exit the Gulf, but that has dwindled to just a few ships passing through every day.

After several weeks, the U.S. began a blockade of Iranian ships as well. With peace talks currently on hold, the fate of shipping through the vital artery remains up in the air.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

deo aired on Iranian state TV purportedly shows soldiers seizing container ships in Strait of Hormuz

VIDEO SHOWS: VIDEO AIRED ON IRANIAN STATE TV PURPORTEDLY SHOWING SOLDIERS SEIZING CONTAINER SHIPS "MSC FRANCESCA" AND "EPAMINONDAS" IN STRAIT OF HORMUZ

Verified by:

- Identities of the container ships confirmed as MSC Francesca and Epaminondas by shapes, colours and types of vessels which matched file imagery of the ships

- Ship tracking data confirmed the position of the container ships

- Exact date not verified but no older version of the footage was found posted online before April 23, 2026

- Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported the seizures of ships on April 22, 2026

RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT

SHOWS: AT SEA (RELEASED APRIL 23, 2026) (IRIB - No use Iran, No Use BBC Persian. No use VOA Persian. No use Manoto. No use Iran International. No use Radio Farda) (MUTE)

1. SPEEDBOAT WITH IRANIAN FLAG

2. VARIOUS AERIAL VIEWS OF CONTAINER SHIP "MSC FRANCESCA"

3. VARIOUS AERIAL VIEWS OF SPEEDBOAT APPROACHING "MSC FRANCESCA" / SOLDIERS CLIMBING LADDER TO BOARD SHIP

4. SOLDIERS WITH RIFLES CLIMBING LADDER

5. AERIAL VIEW OF SOLDIERS CLIMBING LADDER TO BOARD "MSC FRANCESCA"

6. AERIAL VIEW OF BANNER ON SHIP READING (English): "MSC FRANCESCA"

7. SOLDIERS CLIMBING LADDER AND BOARDING SHIP

8. AERIAL VIEW OF SOLDIERS CLIMBING LADDER FROM SPEEDBOAT TO "MSC FRANCESCA"

9. SPEEDBOAT WITH IRANIAN FLAG

10. VIEW OF CONTAINER SHIP "EPAMINONDAS" FROM SPEEDBOAT

11. SPEEDBOAT APPROACHING "EPAMINONDAS"

12. SPEEDBOAT NEAR "EPAMINONDAS"